Ghana is looking to aquaculture to help close its fish-supply gap.But producing more fish comes with another challenge — keeping them alive.For fish farmers, some of the most dangerous threats begin where the human eye cannot reach.A pond may appear calm and healthy while dissolved oxygen levels are falling, ammonia is rising, or the pH is changing.By the time fish begin struggling at the surface, a farmer may already be facing significant losses.One fish farmer recalls how difficult it was to know when something was going wrong with the water.“Before we had the pool, it was very difficult to tell that there was something wrong with the water, simply because certain parameters can’t be detected using the eye,” he said.The farmer said the warning often came only after fish had started dying.“We only knew there was something wrong with the water when we had lost a number of fish,” he added.After losing a large number of fish, the farmer turned to AquaMet, a locally developed water-quality monitoring technology.He said the system changed how decisions were made on the farm.“Following that, we were able to predict the changes in water quality, to be able to make informed decisions so that we can prevent the events that happened,” he said.Turning invisible changes into dataThat is the problem Frank Owusu, founder of AquaMet Technologies, is trying to address.His experience in aquaculture exposed him to the difficulties farmers face when they cannot see what is happening inside their ponds.AquaMet has developed a water-quality monitoring system designed to give farmers real-time information about conditions beneath the surface.Sensors placed inside ponds, cages or tanks monitor parameters including dissolved oxygen, ammonia, temperature and pH.The data is transmitted remotely to a mobile platform, allowing farmers to monitor changes without having to be physically beside the water.Owusu said the aim is to move farmers from reacting to losses to preventing them.“The water quality device helped them to manage water quality at the farm level by providing real-time access to data and then also actionable recommendations so that the farmers become more proactive than reactive,” he said.Early warning before fish killsThe technology provides farmers with a continuous picture of water conditions — something that can be difficult to achieve through visual observation alone.During a demonstration, Owusu explained how the system operates.“So this is AquaMet’s smartphone. So whether it’s a pond or cage or tank, this one goes inside,” he said.Once submerged, the sensor collects information and transmits it to the digital platform.“The sensor detects them and then it sends the data remotely to the platform or the mobile app. So you are able to also now see it here on the app wherever you are,” he explained.The idea is to allow farmers to identify potentially dangerous changes before they become visible through fish behaviour or mortality.For an industry seeking to expand production, such early warning could help farmers protect stock and reduce avoidable losses.Scaling local innovationAquaMet says it currently works with more than 750 farmers and has established partnerships across the aquaculture sector.But expanding locally developed technology requires investment and institutional support.Owusu said collaboration between government and private-sector innovators would be important in scaling climate-smart solutions for the industry.“Quite recently in our industry, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture is doing a lot partnering with innovators like us who are also delivering climate-smart solutions in the industry,” he said.He also called on other government and non-government institutions to support local innovators.“And I want to call on similar government bodies and then also non-government bodies to support some of these initiatives,” he added.AquaMet says it is also working on additional partnerships with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.“Currently we are also having some additional partnerships that we intend to roll out even with the Ministries of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development,” Owusu said.Ghana’s aquaculture strategy recognises research, innovation and technology adoption as important areas for developing the sector.For farmers, however, the challenge is immediate.They cannot always wait until water conditions become visibly poor before taking action.Beneath the surface, the first sign of trouble may not be dirty water or struggling fish. It may be hundreds of dead fish.AquaMet is betting on data to help farmers detect those invisible changes earlier — and potentially protect their fish, their investments and their livelihoods.